{"id":638843,"date":"2024-04-20T03:51:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T07:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=638843"},"modified":"2024-04-20T03:54:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T07:54:25","slug":"three-things-erik-ten-hag-fix-manchester-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/04\/20\/three-things-erik-ten-hag-fix-manchester-united\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Things Erik ten Hag Needs to Do to Revitalise Manchester United"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">It&#8217;s no secret that Manchester United are having a torrid season on the field. Currently sitting in seventh place, level on points with Newcastle United with a vastly inferior goal difference, 12 defeats in 32 games have seen the scrutiny on beleaguered coach Erik ten Hag sharply increase after what was a largely successful first season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The problems for the Dutchman are extensive, and the jury is out amongst Manchester United fans whether he is the one to solve them. Let&#8217;s explore three pressing issues for the Red Devils coach to address.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;180457&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Three Issues That Erik ten Hag Must Address at Manchester United<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;Just look at that!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>A LOT of shots faced for Manchester United.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MOTD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MOTD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AB7Hhr7lRZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/AB7Hhr7lRZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BBCMOTD\/status\/1779272952480932332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Stop Shots on Their Goal<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Poor old Andr\u00e9 Onana. The Cameroonian\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">goalkeeper&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0form has improved drastically since the turn of the year, but he has had plenty of in-game practice. Indeed, Erik ten\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hag&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0men have conceded an\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5328427\/2024\/03\/13\/man-utd-shots-faced\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">extraordinary 574 shots on their goal<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0in 32 Premier League games, an average of 17.93 a game, more than any other team in\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Europe&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0big five leagues ( Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0can be explained by a porous midfield, with 32-year-old Casemiro enduring a sharp decline in his second season at Old Trafford and youngster Kobbie Mainoo unable to cover the ground by himself. In Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay, Manchester United have two replacements that either lack mobility or the positional sense to complement one (or both) of the usual starting midfield.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/04\/17\/manchester-united-kobbie-mainoo-contract-talks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2018<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">INEOS Are Pushin<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">g\u2019:<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Man Utd Prioritizing New Contract For<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0\u2018<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Fabulous<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2019\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Sensation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Furthermore, persistent and repeated injuries to Ten\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hag&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0back four have severely limited the continuity of the defence, with the former Ajax manager forced into using a staggering 31 different rearguard combinations this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Get Rid of Deadwood<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Too many Manchester United players clearly have no future at the club beyond this season, with\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the likes of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0Anthony Martial already preparing to depart upon the expiration of his contract this summer. Player recruitment at the club has been appalling since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, but United have also been dreadful at player sales.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Read More<\/span><\/strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/03\/24\/erik-ten-hag-manchester-united-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Erik Ten Hag: Insights From A Turbulent Season At Manchester United As Immediate Future Clarified<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This summer requires a clearout of players that either\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">aren&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0good enough for a squad aspiring to challenge for titles ( McTominay, Eriksen) or are too old and injury-prone (Casemiro, Varane). With a new footballing structure in place at the club since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the appointment of experienced operators in vital roles such as Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox, and (eventually) Dan Ashworth, the club should find itself in a much better position to move on players that\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">don&#8217;t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0fit into Ten\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hag&#8217;s<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[tgdcta items=&#8221;1&#8243; id=&#8221;180457&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3>Sign a Striker and Find Ways to Create Chances for Him and Rasmus Hojlund<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund has enjoyed a decent first season at Old Trafford following his \u00a372m arrival from Serie A outfit Atalanta last summer, scoring 13 times in 35 games in a largely dysfunctional side that fails to provide him with adequate service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">With Anthony Martial injured and largely unreliable whether he plays or\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">not,<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0and Marcus Rashford preferring to play on the left, Ten Hag requires an understudy\u00a0<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">and\/or<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0competition for the Dane and a formula to get the ball to him more often.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s no secret that Manchester United are having a torrid season on the field. Currently sitting in seventh place, level on points with Newcastle United with a vastly inferior goal difference, 12 defeats in 32 games have seen the scrutiny on beleaguered coach Erik ten Hag sharply increase after what was a largely successful first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5004,"featured_media":634926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,3],"tags":[3626,1920,4315,9794],"class_list":["post-638843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united","category-premier-league","tag-analysis","tag-casemiro","tag-erik-ten-hag","tag-rasmus-hojlund"],"modified_by":"Ricky Carroll, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}